Settler Colonialism and the Failed-Settlement Narrative in the Ottawa-Huron Tract, 1850–1910
A “Colony of Unrequited Dreams”? Settler Colonialism and the Failed-Settlement Narrative in the Ottawa-Huron Tract, 1850–1910 by Derek Murray B.A. (Honours), University of Guelph, 2007 M.A., University of Guelph, 2009 G.Cert., Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, University of Victoria, 2014 A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in the Department of History © Derek Murray, 2018 University of Victoria All rights reserved. This dissertation may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without the permission of the author. ii Supervisory Committee A “Colony of Unrequited Dreams”? Settler Colonialism and the Failed-Settlement Narrative in the Ottawa-Huron Tract, 1850–1910 by Derek Murray B.A. (Honours), University of Guelph, 2007 M.A., University of Guelph, 2009 G.Cert., Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, University of Victoria, 2014 Supervisory Committee Dr. Eric W. Sager, Supervisor Department of History Dr. Lynne S. Marks, Departmental Member Department of History Dr. Peter A. Baskerville, Outside Member Department of History and Classics, University of Alberta iii Abstract In the 1850s, the government of Canada West initiated a project to colonize a vast region of the Canadian Shield known as the Ottawa-Huron Tract. Later, in his influential interpretation, Arthur Lower argued the myth of the inexorable forward movement of the settlement frontier was here shattered by a reality of lakes, rocks, and forest inherently unsuitable for farming. This refrain continues to be repeated by proponents of what I call the failed-settlement narrative.
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